"Joy and pleasure are as real as pain and sorrow and one must learn what they have to teach. . . ." -- Sean Russell, from Gatherer of Clouds

"If you're not having fun, you're not doing it right." -- Helyn D. Goldenberg

"I love you and I'm not afraid." -- Evanescence, "My Last Breath"

“If I hear ‘not allowed’ much oftener,” said Sam, “I’m going to get angry.” -- J.R.R. Tolkien, from Lord of the Rings

Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Asking the Right Question

Via Digby, this from Ana Novarro:

To me it feels like [Republicans] have fallen prey to a Donald Trump cult.They are ceding their loyalty not to the constitution, not to the country, not to their constituents but to this president of their party but who wasn't even a Republican until a few years ago. They' so desperate to want to play, to want to be invited to dinner at the white house that they are willing to remain silent in the face of a president who is attacking our institutions.

I think the Republicans as a group -- once faced with the inevitability of his winning the nomination -- thought Trump would be useful tool to consolidated their grip on the country. I strongly suspect they didn't really know what they were dealing with. Of course, none of us did.

I thought what James Clapper said yesterday, that our institutions are being attacked both externally and internally, was spine chilling. And it's something that we should take so seriously. This president started off by attacking the Intelligence Community. He has tweeted against judges. He has tweeted intimidation to Sally Yates on the day of her testimony. He has tweeted a veiled threat to the former FBI Director.

So I have to ask Republicans over and over again. What is it going to take for you to wake up and recognize your duty is to country and not to this one man. How far does it have to go? What does he have to do for you to wake up and speak up and do what you need to do?

Republicans have as much disdain for our foundational principles as Trump does, and their focus is purely on entrenching themselves at the top of the heap: look at their responses to some of our real problems. How to deal with increasing crime due to poverty, discrimination, and lack of opportunity? Militarize the police. what to do about the miserable failure that is the War on Drugs? Double down. How to create jobs? Give more money to the ones who are exporting American jobs to begin with. And it goes on -- the AHCA was nothing more than an excuse to give another huge tax break to the 1%, and can we talk about the whole "voter fraud" fantasy? And let's not even get into the "religious right", determined to turn this country into a theocracy.

So the question is, what is it going to take for the Republicans to wake up and recognize that their duty is to the country, not their party?

I don't have an answer.

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